Apparatus for treating liquids with gases



Au 112 n mm 1,504,265 c. s. PALMER APPARATUS FOR TREATING LIQUIDS WITHGASES Filed March 12, 1 920 Inventor,

Charles S. Palmer:

B @J Mm y Aktolfqey.

atented Aug. l2, iii

ES 8. PALMER, 01E PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING LIQUIDS WITH GASES.

Application filed March 12, 1920. Serial N10. 365,271.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, CHARLES S. PALMER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in apparatus for Treating Liquids with Gases, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for and processes of treating liquidswith gases by causing a gas to be absorbed by an absorbing oil; and theinvention is particularly useful in the absorption of the gasoline ofcasing-head gas or other natural gas by the absorbing oil, where time,pressure, temperature and surface are of great importance.

In testing for the quantity of gasoline in small quantities by thelaboratory method a small autoclave or iron absorber is used, the latterbeing a cylinder which is arranged in upright position and is filledwith absorbing oil to a depth of about two-thirds of its height. The gasis forced in at the bottom and rises through this absorbing oil whichtakes out more or less of the gasoline which is in the gas. It usuallytakes not more than a few seconds of time for the bubbles of gas to risethrough the absorbing oil, so that the time of contact between the gasand oil is very short."

One of the objects of the present invention is to extend the time thatit takes for the bubbles of gas to pass up through the absorbing oil,thereby giving a longer period of contact, and accomplishing improvedresults.

Uther objects of the invention will appear herein, and the inventionconsists of certain features ofconstruction and combinations of parts tobe hereinafter described and claimed with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, illustrative of one embodiment of the invention for carryingout the improved process, and in which draw- 1ngs- Fig. 1, is alongitudinal vertical section of the apparatus part1 in elevation andpartly broken away, an

Fig. 2, is a central vertical section of the lower portion of theapparatus enlarged. for the urpose of more clearly illustrating the preerred specific improvements.

It is the usual practice to provide the tank or vessel containing acolumn of the absorbing oil with a brick helix having a long pitch butfew turns, and hence such a structure is comparatively heavy andcumbrous,

and hence costly of manufacture, and furthermore, the gas rising alongthe under side of the brick helix passes laterally off of the helix andquickly to the top, and thus loses much of the time which should beutilized in the absorption of the gas by the oil. The present inventionis an improvement thereover. The drawings illustrate a tank or vessel10, arranged in upright position, and provided at its upper part with areceiving tank 11, into which the absorbing oil may be introduced andthen fed through a valved-control pipe 12, into the upper part of thetank. Pipe 12 leads from the bottom of the small. tank 11, while thepipe 13 connects the upper part of the small tank 11 with the treatingtank 10. A small tank 11 constitutes a convenient means for introducingthe absorbing oil into the treatment tank 10, and the upper pipe 13,when the valve thereof is opened, constitutes means for allowing the gaspressure in the tank 10 to be relieved while the oil is beingintroduced. The valve of pipe 13 is closed when the absorber is working.

The treatment tank 10 receives a gas inlet pipe 14, preferably arrangedalong-the longitudinal axis of the tank, and descending in the tank to ashort distance from the bottom thereof, so as to leave an outlet space15, between the bottom of the tank 10 and the open lower end of the gaspipe 14. Encircling the gas inlet pipe 14 there is a helical leader 16,preferably of sheet metal, with its inner edge preferably securedgastight to the outer surface of the gas inlet pipe 14. This helicalleader has a' great many turns and extends upwardly in the column of liuid for a distance of preferably two-thir s of the height of the tank10. The outer edge of the helical leader 16 is spaced a suitabledistance away from the inner wall of the tank or vessel 10, and isturned down into a flange 17 so that a helical channel is formed, whichopens downwardly. The lower end of the helical leader 16, starts from apoint slightly above the lower open end of the gas inlet pipe 14.

Suppose the gasoline of natural gas and casing-head as is sent underressure through the pipe 14, the said gas wi 1 be admitted into thelower portion of the treatment tank 10 from the lower end of the pipe14, where it will pass into the column of absorbing oil. en the gas isdischarging from the supply pipe 14, it will flow along the undersurfaceof the helical leader, or rather in the downwardly opening helicalchannel, and will this pass upwardly therein until it reaches the upperextremity thereof although a, small quantity of the gas may passgraduall in bubbles laterally off of the lower edge of the helicalflange 17 and into the main body of absorbing oil. It will be seen thatthe gas flowing in the downwardly opening channel will be entrainedtherein in such Way that it will not pass directly into the main body ofoil, but radually from the lower to the upper end 0 the helical channel,thereby causing the gas to have an extended contact with the absorbingoil. As it is the tendency of the gas to rise rapidly in the oil, thecentrifugal whirling action imparted to the bubbles of gas throws themviolently against the flange 17, with the re sult that the bubbles areseparated into smaller bubbles which the oil will more rapidly absorb,and this breaking-up action is such that at the discharge end of thehelical leader the oil is in a foamy condition. For the purpose offacilitating the breaking up of the gas admitted into the treatment tankinto small streams, transverse, vertically notched baffles 18 arearranged in the helical channel at points adjacent the discharge openingof the gas inlet pipe 14. It will be seen that the trapped or entrainedgas will thus be broken up into small streams, so as to more readilyacquire a bubble formation.

The treatment tank 10 is provided with a valved discharge pipe 19 forthe absorbing oil, which contains the absorbed gasoline or other gas. Atthe top of the tank 10 is a valved discharge pipe 20 for the surplus orunabsorbed gas. It is also obvious that the invention is susceptible ofmodification to greater or less extent, and I therefore do not desire tolimit myself in this connection, except as recited in the claims.

What I claim as new is:

1. In an apparatus for treating liquids with gases, the combination,with a closed absorber vessel for holding a column of liquid, means forintroducing the liquid, and controlled means for removing the liquid, ofa conduit for gas, leading down into said vessel and opening thereintoadjacent the bottom of the vessel, and a helical leader of many turnsencircling said conduit and sub-' merged in and extending substantiallythroughout the column of liquid, said leader having a continuous,downwardly open, channel at its under side for entraining within thecolumn of liquid a stream of gas in its upward flow, and for causing thegas to issue in bubbles directly into the column of liquid, the bubblesbeing carried around the leader in a centrifugal helical whirl, thusbreaking the bubbles Into smaller bubbles, wherebythey are more readilyadapted to be absorbed by the liquid, said channel freely communicatingthroughout its entire length with the space within the wall of theclosed absorber vessel.

2. In an apparatus for treating liquids with gases, the combination,with a closed absorber vessel for holding a colunm of liquid, means forintroducing the liquid, and

controlled means for removing the liquid,

of a conduit for gas, leading down into said. vessel and openingthereinto adjacent the bottom of the vessel, and a helical leader ofmany turns, encircling said conduit with a substantial gas-tight-fitthereupon, and submerged in and extending substantially throughout thecolumn of liquid, said leader having a continuous flange at its underside and which is spaced away from the wall of said vessel along itslower edge, said leader with its flange forming a channel for ontraining a stream of gas in its upward flow, and for causing the gas toissue in bubbles into the column of liquid, the bubbles bein carriedaround the leader in a centrifuga helical whirl, thus breaking up thebubbles into smaller bubbles, whereby they are more readily adapted tobe absorbed by the liquid. 3. In an apparatus for treating liquidswith'gases, means for, admitting gas into the lower part of a column ofliquid, helical means submerged in the column of liquid for conductingthe admitted gas upwardly in the liquid in an extended helical path andhelical means extending below aforesaid helical means for substantiallyconfining bubbles of the gas before absorption, in said helical path,whereby as the bubbles rise a centrifugal whirl of them is produced insaid path, thus forcibly breaking them up into smaller bubbles againstsaid confining means, for quicker absorption in the li uid.

CHARLES S. PALME

